Bindings which permit the bending behavior of the ski to be changed are commercially available. For this purpose, one end of an elongated part, which can be subjected to shearing, is arranged on the upper side of the ski, in the central region of the ski, such that it is fixed to said ski. The other end of the elongated part is guided displaceably in the longitudinal direction of the ski and interacts with an adjustable stop.
During "flexing" of the ski, i.e., when the ski ends are bent upward relative to the central region of the ski, the free end of the elongated part is displaced in the direction of the stop. As soon as the elongated part and stop butt against one another, further bending of the ski is counteracted by an increased additional resistance.
Moreover, various ski bindings with carrier plates extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski are already known, these carrier plates being mounted on the ski by a cushion layer consisting of elastomer material of greater or lesser thickness. Some portions of the carrier plates (e.g., a central longitudinal region), may be firmly connected to the ski. The carrier plate serves as a supporting surface for the ski boot, which may be secured releasably on the carrier plate by means of conventional binding elements.
In the case of such bindings, the ski boot is retained at a comparatively large vertical distance from the underside of the ski. Many skiers regard this as advantageous for effective edging. This is because the ski boots are typicall considerably wider than the skis, i.e., the ski boots project over the ski in the sideward direction. When the ski boot is secured at a relatively large vertical distance from the underside of the ski, the ski can then tilt a large degree to the side with respect to the underlying surface. Accordingly, a high degree of edging is possible without a ski-boot region which projects sideward and downward over the tilted ski causing the ski boot to come into contact with the ground.
Furthermore, the elastomer material mentioned above can influence the vibration or bending behavior of the ski and, in particular, can damp vibrations, which task is quite often desired by skiers.
This vibration damping is based, inter alia, on the fact that, during longitudinal bending of the ski, as takes place, for example, when the ski is traveling over dips in the ground, the elastomer material is compressed vertically because the vertical spacing between the carrier plate and the ski is reduced, and/or shearing takes place, because relatively large longitudinal relative movements between the carrier plate and ski take place at a relatively large longitudinal distance from the region of the carrier plate which is fixed to the ski.